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Politicians love big projects. It is much more tangible than most government programs. Your draw a line of a map and then a real change happens in the world.

by 7952 5y ago

Politicians love big projects. It is much more tangible than most government programs. Your draw a line of a map and then a real change happens in the world. And this government have put much more money into infrastructure than you might expect given their ideology. In fact industry have trouble getting enough capacity to support projects like HS2. And often in less sexy areas like rail electrification, smart motorways etc. Also in my experience the human aspect of projects is always the most difficult part. The most amazing thing about a company like SpaceX is not the technical achievement. But getting thousands of people to work together on a single goal. And arguably this kind of thing is less problematic in large projects than in the rest of society. But the effects of bad communication is far more visible and explicit. Engineering cuts through and delivers because it actually simplifies things.

mrlonglong 5y ago
I absolutely hate smart motorways. Dangerous and a proven killer at the worst possible time. Even emergency services can't get through quickly if the traffic is backed up and there's been a bad traffic collision as there's no hard shoulder for them to use.
lozenge 5y ago
"And this government have put much more money into infrastructure than you might expect given their ideology... And often in less sexy areas like rail electrification, smart motorways etc." On what basis? They've scaled down HS2 and the Northern Rail Plan. Smart motorways is purely a way to avoid expensive, complicated, often necessary road widening with an unsafe technological solution. A lot of the safety issues of smart motorways has also been due to cutting costs - less frequent emergency refuge areas, less cameras than are needed to detect accidents. Now the press has caught up to them they have stopped rolling them out entirely.
- 7952 5y ago
  Its more that I am surprised they started these projects in the first place. I agree that smart motorways are less safe, and there are better ways to reduce demand (like road pricing). Having said that motorways are still very safe compared to other roads, even after being made "smart". I think a modest reduction in safety is an acceptable price to pay if billions can be saved. Invest that money in reducing death from emissions, pedestrian safety, or even our far less safe A road network.
- dazc 5y ago
  Bear in mind that the average motorway user already has a death wish, safety has already gone out of the window, what we're adding is just capacity.
  - midasuni 5y ago
    The stats don’t reflect your assertion. KSI of car occupants is far lower per mile and per hour on motorways than other roads
    - dazc 5y ago
      You are correct, you much more likely to be killed on a regauar A road. My comment was really about the attitude of drivers rather than the statistical/actual risk.

by 7952 5y ago

mrlonglong 5y ago

I absolutely hate smart motorways. Dangerous and a proven killer at the worst possible time. Even emergency services can't get through quickly if the traffic is backed up and there's been a bad traffic collision as there's no hard shoulder for them to use.

lozenge 5y ago

"And this government have put much more money into infrastructure than you might expect given their ideology... And often in less sexy areas like rail electrification, smart motorways etc." On what basis? They've scaled down HS2 and the Northern Rail Plan. Smart motorways is purely a way to avoid expensive, complicated, often necessary road widening with an unsafe technological solution. A lot of the safety issues of smart motorways has also been due to cutting costs - less frequent emergency refuge areas, less cameras than are needed to detect accidents. Now the press has caught up to them they have stopped rolling them out entirely.

7952 5y ago
Its more that I am surprised they started these projects in the first place. I agree that smart motorways are less safe, and there are better ways to reduce demand (like road pricing). Having said that motorways are still very safe compared to other roads, even after being made "smart". I think a modest reduction in safety is an acceptable price to pay if billions can be saved. Invest that money in reducing death from emissions, pedestrian safety, or even our far less safe A road network.
dazc 5y ago
Bear in mind that the average motorway user already has a death wish, safety has already gone out of the window, what we're adding is just capacity.
- midasuni 5y ago
  The stats don’t reflect your assertion. KSI of car occupants is far lower per mile and per hour on motorways than other roads
  - dazc 5y ago
    You are correct, you much more likely to be killed on a regauar A road. My comment was really about the attitude of drivers rather than the statistical/actual risk.